Definitely. In any group with no conductor, and even in sections in an orchestra, you need to be able to connect with every player around you. It's a lot easier to cue and signal other players if you know them, at least siightly, and aren't uncomfortable with communicating with them.

In a band, band, where youre not necessarily paid to stick with one group of musicians, liking and understanding your band mates is even more important. Who wants to work so closely with a bunch of strangers?

I find that the older I get, the less I enjoy the bands I'm in. That's why I write my own songs and play guitar and sing. I don't really want to have to depend on others to produce my music. The only bands I've ever been in for any length of time are the ones where I had some camaraderie with the others.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leth

Who wants to work so closely with a bunch of strangers?

Exactly. If I have to work with strangers, I wanna get paid for it. The first few jams are fine, but after awhile things get repetitive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrumEatDrum

yes.

You don't have to be best friends, but there has to be some level on enjoying each other.

Just imagine being in a touring band where everyone is piled on top of each other in a van-bus-whatever for weeks on end.

True. I couldn't imagine going on tour with a bunch of strangers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gvdadrummasum

the band i played in for a decade were the best of friends...brothers even.....family ... completely ...all for one ...whats mine is yours type shit

but I promise you this.....every time we came home from a couple months on the road....I hated those cats more than anything you can imagine...and Im sure they felt the same about me

then after a week or two apart ......the gravitational pull would bring us back together and the process would start all over again

Maybe you guys needed a bigger van or a bus. Seems like that's kinda the way it should be if you're going on tour. Sounds like your tours were better funded than a punk band's though. I've heard some stories.

Maybe you guys needed a bigger van or a bus. Seems like that's kinda the way it should be if you're going on tour. Sounds like your tours were better funded than a punk band's though. I've heard some stories.

well they were pretty much funded by us since our label at the time wasn't huge on tour support......they gave some....but not nearly enough to keep us out as long as we were booked for

merch sales and gig pay helped keep the machine running

it wasn't really the close quarters (van) that got us on each others nerves .....it was more the fact that the 3 of us each have very strong personalities and we wore on each other.....as people do when they spend a lot of time together....check out the divorce rate in the United States

but hey we put in nearly 10 years together and remain very close friends today

I was in a band for a few years that had a very strange practice schedule, as it went right through the dinner hour on a thursday each week. We made it a point to go out for burritos together after practice, and it's amazing how much stuff we were able to get done with just that extra hour or so a week.
We were able to plan our future, talk about gigs, tours, recording....a bunch of stuff. And we did our best planning over burritos.

If you choose to take the next step and hang out socially with them, then great. If not, at least hanging out with them enough to get a good understanding of the types of individuals you're playing with would be a good thing. Some bands have no aspirations out of the occasional jam session, but that's likely not what we're talking about here.

That's something my band misses. Since our get togethers end sometime after 10 on Thurs, all we manage is a half hour chat and then we go home. When I was younger my band mates had fewer commitments and didn't need as much rest, so we almost always socialised after rehearsals and gigs.

I enjoy the camaraderie, although I've known people who think it's hokey - they just wanted to play the music and get away. Misanthropes :)